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What’s happening in the early childhood world of Pumpkin Science? Have you planted and harvested pumpkins? Have you weighed, floated, cut-open, counted seeds, printed, or rolled pumpkins?...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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Great science in urban middle schools
If you’re an administrator in an urban middle school, come to the NSTA Conference in Minneapolis. You can spend a day with a group of dedicated urban science educators—the Urban Science Education Leaders (USEL)—who are working to change the way...
By Debra Shapiro
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SciLinks and cooperative learning
Earlier this month, I was asked to search for and upload resources on cooperative learning for SciLinks (use the keyword “community collaborations”). There were many good sites, although some were published in the 1990s (interesting but ...
By Mary Bigelow
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Are children getting enough direct experience with natural materials?
There has been an interesting discussion going on among the middle and high school science teachers on the NSTA General Science email list about the lack of direct experience in their students’ background. Some have suggested that early childho...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
The average wind speed in Minneapolis is 10 miles per hour (mph), equal to the Windy City of Chicago, according to worldfactsandfigures.com. While that makes Minneapolis a less-than-ideal location for a wind turbine, it is still good setting for a wi...
By Lynn Petrinjak
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Richard Louv on returning nature to the classroom
By now many of you surely have heard of Richard Louv and his book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. ...
By Debra Shapiro
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The editor makes a good point – helping students connect science to real issues can help to dispel the “why are we doing this” question....
By Mary Bigelow
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One of the organizing strands for the NSTA Conference in Phoenix is “Rigor Without Mortis: Challenging and Accessible Content.” Challenging AND accessible? Genetics fits that bill. The science is in our cells, so it’s certainly accessible, and ...
By Debra Shapiro
Blog Post
Asking questions and solving problems
In the article CSI for Trees there a quote that sums up the theme of this issue: “An ordinary activity can be transformed into a lesson that includes nature of science themes simply by adding a few key statements and questions throughout a les...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Some of my colleagues in the science department and I would like to start a book group, but we’re not sure how to get started. What books should we read? How often should we meet? Any other suggestions? —Allison, Lexington, Kentucky How many time...
By MsMentorAdmin
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Resource sharing—websites and other places to learn
Does it seem to you that this blog needs a place to post about resources such as book and website recommendations, commercial sites for needed early childhood science supplies, and interesting articles that are not necessarily related to a particula...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
"Early Sprouts" for two
When I shared my copy of the book Early Sprouts: Cultivating Healthy Food Choices in Young Children with a nutritionist friend, she got very excited about the possibilities, but then her job changed and she no longer works directly with children. Di...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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What science should we teach in early childhood?
I’m interested in your opinions on what should be included in early childhood science standards. We don’t want to underestimate the abilities of young children to understand relationships in natural systems, nor overestimate their ability to unde...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Living things in the classroom
Many NSTA journal articles refer to working in “Outdoor Classrooms.” I teach in a neighborhood school with no grass or trees in the schoolyard, so I’m thinking of bringing the outdoors indoors by adding some plants and live animals ...
By MsMentorAdmin
Blog Post
What a bonanza for chemistry/physical science teachers this fall–first, the September issue of The Science Teacher (with the theme of Chemistry for a Changing World), and now the October issue of ...
By Mary Bigelow
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Favorite smells—stories and activities
I love the way two-year-olds inexpertly sniff, to sense an odor. They crinkle up their nose and snort, or gasp, and blink their eyes, not quite putting it all together to inhale through their nose. Yet they have an expert sense of smell—nothing...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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I’m feeling really frustrated. I thought the students were following along in my first unit, but I am really disappointed in the test results. What can I do differently in the next unit? —Lisa, Topeka, Kansas The first unit is the toughest on...
By MsMentorAdmin
Blog Post
Rather than competing with the commercial hoopla around Halloween, perhaps we science teachers could do our own special celebrations that relate to science concepts. For example, it’s not too early to plan events for Mole Day, celebrated on Oct...
By Mary Bigelow
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Thinking BIG, Learning BIG: Summer reading becomes September's lesson plans
July is a distant memory of 6am wake up calls for my high-schooler who took PE over the summer, balanced with my getting more than five minutes of peace and quiet—time to read about early childhood and science, to think my own thoughts and get hung...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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What an appropriate theme for the September issue! I’ve often wondered why field trips are usually scheduled in the spring when the fall is such a great time to be outdoors. And activities involving plants and animals are good ways to introduce...
By Mary Bigelow
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Books about fall leaves, inspired by the autumn equinox
Do deciduous tree leaves in your area change color before they fall?...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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Individualized professional development
The middle school where I teach just changed the topics taught each year to align with our state standards. My specialty is biology/life science, but now I’m also expected to address topics in earth and physical science. The inservice agenda fo...
By MsMentorAdmin
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All summer I was getting ready for the upcoming school year by collecting clear plastic jars and bottles with screw-on lids. Now they are on the shelf at school as “Discovery Bottles”, compact and beautiful, and (best of all) contained....
By Peggy Ashbrook
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Two items titled “Critical Thinking” are on my desktop right now: the September issue of Science Scope and an op-ed piece in the Boston Globe ...
By Mary Bigelow
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I’m thinking of requiring some “take-home” projects for students this year. (I teach at the elementary level). I think these would provide a good opportunity for students and parents to work together on science topics. Do you have a...
By MsMentorAdmin
Blog Post
Chemistry for a changing world
Welcome to the 2009-2010 school year! I was excited by the theme of this kick-off issue. I loved chemistry as a high school student (Thank you, Sister Maureen!), majored in the subject in college, and taught it as part of a physical science course. E...
By Mary Bigelow
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Just in case you have not yet read the column “Teaching Through Tradebooks” in Science and Children, the National Science Teachers Association’s elementary school journal, I’ll share why I like it with you. The column writes up two acti...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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Planting this fall for springtime blooms
I’m planning a fall gardening activity now, before school starts, and the first step is to mark my calendar to buy spring flowering bulbs before the end of September. Seasonal changes vary across the many climates in the United States. If you get t...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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What’s the best way to set up cooperative learning groups for labs and other activities? How often should I change the groups? I’d also like to assign roles for group members, but I need some examples. — Doug, Henderson, Nevada ...
By MsMentorAdmin
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I’ve just heard of a few new resources from PBS. They’ve recently redesigned the PBS Teachers page (it seems to be the month for redesigning sites — have you seen the new SciLinks site?)....
By Mary Bigelow
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Last week, I went to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia for the exhibit on Galileo: The Medici and the Age of Astronomy. It was awesome to see an actual Galileo telescope and learn more about the social, political, and cultural contexts in which ...
By Mary Bigelow
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Perseverance and "failure"
With all of the curricular demands and a focus on preparing for state exams, I am concerned that we do not create situations for students to persevere if they don’t succeed in their first attempts at experiments in science. How do we communicate th...
By MsMentorAdmin
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I received a “tweet” from NSTA yesterday – the new version of SciLinks is operational! If you’ve been a longtime user of SciLinks, you’ll notice the new look right away. It’s more visually appealing but the basic functions are there....
By Mary Bigelow
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Showing the science: using children's work to document your program
Digital photography changed the way I do science with my students. I reflect more on what has happened and what is being left out as I look over the photos, in moments after school, at home on the computer. I have this luxury as a parent of older chi...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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It’s hard to believe that in a short time, the students will be back in school, ready to start a new year....
By Mary Bigelow
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Citizen science: collaborative projects for teachers and their class
I was excited to see a Monarch butterfly land on the Butterfly Bush in the yard (I hesitate to call it a garden). Click on the photo for more Early Years pics....
By Peggy Ashbrook
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I’ve read a lot about the value of making connections with students. But it seems impossible to connect with individual students when I meet with 150 per day in my classes. Any suggestions or advice? —Bethany, Rochester, Minnesota...
By MsMentorAdmin
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Transitioning to kindergarten: hearing from children who have been there
Some elementary schools on a “year-round” or “modified calendar” are about to begin a new school year on Monday, and many others begin in September....
By Peggy Ashbrook
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One of the folks I follow on Twitter recommended the Sixty Symbols website. It is a collection of videos about the symbols of physics and astronomy in which experts from the University of Nottingham share their knowledge and passion for their subjec...
By Mary Bigelow
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When does science become significant?
Math and Science in Preschool: Policies and Practice, a National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) Preschool Policy Brief, says that teachers usually do not plan and support science and math learning in pre-K....
By Peggy Ashbrook